Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the Sivga Luan placed on a mannequin head, to help show how these headphones would look on the human head. Note that the head is slightly under average sized, so account for the discrepancies accordingly. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, so make sure to properly use the available height adjustability of the headband and the swivel/rotation of the ear cups themselves. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page and I will mention here that the Luan is about average for dynamic driver headphones at ~354 g, but does not feel like it. It wears its mass quite well owing to good weight distribution with the wide suspension band and the integrated "nuggets." The clamp force is about average and I had no issues getting these on my head and over my ears once I had the vertical sizing done. The ear pads themselves are quite soft to where they conform easily around your ears, thus also becoming cushions to further dampen the clamping force if it comes off too much for you. The opening for the ears could be slightly taller so those with larger ears may notice some contact with the ear pads. There is also the chance that people with bigger heads may not have enough clamp force to their desire but that does not necessarily result in a broken seal since the ear pads just won't collapse inward as much. It's an interesting design that works well enough and ends up making the Sivga Luan one of the most comfortable headphones I've used to date—especially with the skin-friendly contact surface on the headband and ear pads. Lastly, keep in mind that this is an open-back set and thus will be best used in a quiet environment without others in the vicinity.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

Sivga develops its own drivers and the Luan takes advantage of a brand new 50 mm dynamic driver design. The diaphragm uses an organic carbon fiber composite dome that sounds like it could be a biocellulose composition. On the outer edge, where the magnetic flux from the magnets can be weaker, Sivga has added a coating of nickel to add extra rigidity and and elasticity to allow for a more uniform motion of the entire diaphragm back and forth, which in turn can especially be handy with the lower frequencies (bass) and mids. The diaphragm is associated with a CCAW (copper-clad aluminium wire) voice coil and is driven by strong 24.5 mm diameter NdFeB magnets with a high rated energy density. The goal was no doubt to create a well sounding set that is still easy to drive off even a phone or laptop given the rated impedance of 38 Ω and average sensitivity of 100 dB/mW—it does not take much to get the Luan sounding very loud. A basic dongle will be fine for most thus, although you can certainly choose to run it off a portable DAC/amp or a larger desktop unit depending on your use case. I primarily paired the Sivga Luan with solid state amplifiers and a neutral DAC such as the TOPPING E70V/L70 stack when testing at home.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature emphasizing a slightly elevated bass and smooth treble range with detailed mids and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our current headphones test setup uses a set of two custom in-ear microphones for the two channels. These microphones closely adhere to the IEC711 class, but have been tweaked to be more reliable in the >10 kHz frequency range, the precise issue with my previous setup, that is otherwise still very good and will continue to be used for IEMs and earphones. Two soft silicone pinnae are installed on the sides, separated by a distance matching my head, and multiple "height" adapters have been 3D-printed for further customization, based on fit, head size and shape. Each set of microphones has an XLR output I separately adapted to 3.5 mm. I used a transparent source—the JDS Element II—for measurements after confirming it was not a bottleneck in any way. This artificial head simulator feeds the microphone lines into a reference USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, netting a good balance of detail and signal to noise ratio. The default tuning was used for testing, and no app or program-based EQ settings were chosen, unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is measured at least thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the individual measurements for statistical accuracy.


As per usual, you can find my headphone frequency response measurements on VSG.squig.link, along with all the earphone measurements. Scroll to the bottom and choose different targets there, including two from Harman Kardon, developed after years of R&D. The Harman 2018 over-ear target in particular is a reference curve many headphone makers aim for now, but I find it too bass-boosted. As such, I am opting for the Harman 2018 curve with the bass target from the Harman 2013 curve, which is what is being referred to as the "Harman Combined" target there. Before we get talking about the sound signature of the Sivga Luan, I want to first talk about the channel balance achieved here. You will notice how the left and right channels are pretty much identical all the way from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, which is the region of interest for human hearing. The minor discrepancy in measurements between 11-12 kHz is best taken with a grain of salt since this is well past the coupler resonance point. Knowing this was a randomly picked retail unit makes it all the more impressive given companies have difficulties getting this level of channel matching even with much more expensive headphones! There was no channel imbalance perceived thus and I will also mention that using the headphones for ~25 hours didn't change anything either for those who would undoubtedly be curious about burn-in.

Sivga's house sound for open-back headphones appears to follow a warm tonality and the same continues with the Luan. In fact, if you were to plot the bass and mids from the Sivga Phoenix, SV023, and Luan on my database then all three will be within error margins of each other! I'd say the overall tonality is a mild V-shape with a boost in the mid bass and lower mids alike. There's some drop-off in the sub-bass relatively but within expectations for an open-back set that is back-dampened. While it may not seem like the best for the likes of EDM and house/trance music thus, the new drivers hit harder than you'd think looking purely at the frequency response. There's enough energy for a variety of bassy tracks thus, although the Luan's strength continues to be with more dynamic tracks and classic rock music. It also manages to do this without coming off boomy or muddy, which is a testament to Sivga having worked on this sound signature for a few years now. While it's not as resolving as, say, the SV023, I do think the Luan is more enjoyable across a diverse range of music genres here.

Vocals come off overly forward facing at times albeit more balanced to where instrument separation is still well executed. Brass instruments and piano keys may feel somewhat recessed by comparison though, but string instruments get their dues and then some. Imaging is quite accurate and I thought the soundstage was quite wide to where violins in particular sound very good here. Timbre is also improved compared to the other Sivga sets I've tested, and perhaps this has to do with the ear gain execution being arguably better than on the Phoenix and the SV023 that is quite forward and honky for some. This also helps better justify the overall damped upper mids and treble that is another Sivga specialty since now it actually feels controlled and deliberate rather than a band-aid aiming to stop a stream of sibilance. Once again I was reminded how much better this driver is since I was actually enjoying orchestral music, at least those without vocals in place. Harps, cymbals, triangle strikes also benefited from the upper treble energy but your mileage may vary here since some can find this too intense and others may not even perceive it.


I've already given you a brief summary above of how the new Sivga Luan compares to the Sivga Phoenix as well as the more expensive SV023. Provided that the fit and seal is not a factor across them, I would personally take the Luan over both of them. It's a more dynamic set that works better with more music genres and is easier on the ears over a longer period of time too courtesy a smoother, more controller upper mids and treble response. Then there are sets that go with an even warmer, more V-shaped sound such as with the FiiO FT3. This is rarely achieved in this price range and requires even more dampening materials used to put forth a completely different sound signature. I'd say the Luan may end up more universally appealing but the FT3 comes off more technical and resolving. The FT3 also has better accessories although it has smaller ear cups and even smaller ear pads to where comfort is definitely in favor of Sivga.

There are also more classic dynamic driver sets which have a drop in the sub-bass such as with the Sennheiser HD 6XX and MOONDROP VOID, both of which cost less than the Luan but the former can cost even more if you are not in the USA and have to go with the HD 650. It does have excellent mids reproduction for vocals and instruments alike but not a lot of energy in the bass and treble to where it requires some effort to be appealing for those who prefer a warmer sound. The Sivga Luan and HD 6XX are more different than alike and I'd really say people need to decide what music genres they favor before deciding on one over the other. The MOONDROP VOID unfortunately has more issues than I'd like and isn't in the discussion too much beyond decent tuning. Then there are planar sets such as the older but still highly recommended HIFIMAN Sundara, which just landed as I was testing the Luan. I doubt I will do a full review given it is old in the tooth but will say that I do understand why it is so popular. It's one of the best tuned sets in this price range and has decent build quality too. The non-swivel of the headbands can compromise on comfort though and timbre does feel off compared to the Luan. On the other hand, the Sundara ends up being more accurate across the board and trades blows technically with the Luan. I can see this being a strong contender for your money too, although I was mostly left impressed how well the Luan took on these competitors.